Fe2d A1959 (WNW Conversion)

[Borsos]

Hi Jeff,
Good question!
according to my research the Fe2d was powered by a "R-R 250 HP Eagle" engine. Your A3 had engine no 1/250/65.
Well. There were 3 Eagle engines rated at 250HP, the R-R 250 HP Mk. II, the R-R 250 HP Mk. III and the Mk. IV. The 36 built Eagle Mk. IIs were exclusively installed into the Short Bombers. The Eagle V (designation R-R 275HP, Mk. I) was rated at 275 HP. The next version of the Eagle, the Mk. VI, was rated at 275 HP as well, but got a doubled engine igniter including four magnetos as did all the later eagles up to the Eagle VIII.
Have a look at the archive photos on the WNW homepage, Accessoires, Rolls-Royce Eagle (132E0022):
http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3121&cat=1
Here you see several photos of Fe2ds with "R-R III, IV or V" engines, according to the photo titles.
Here: http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3121&cat=4
you see scetches of the R-R Eagle II(late), III and IV (they look the same), of the VI and VII and a last one of the VII. If you throw an eye on the parts of the sprues and these sketches, you'll see the only really visible differende between the R-R III/IV/V and late R-Rs are the doubled igniter and the four magnetos. The R-R III/IV/V didn't have those. Well, that brought me to two conclusions:
1. Whatever R-R 250HP engine (The Mk. II, III or the mk. IV) powered the Fe2d, they looked the same and even looked exactly like the R-R V (although rated at 275HP). Even the guys at Wingnut Wings couldn't distinguish them.
2. The WNW sprue 132E0022 contains all the parts you need to build a 250 HP R-R Eagle for a Fe2d.
Now I'd add a third conclusion: to call 132E0022 "266-375 HP" on the WNW homepage is nonsense. There is no R-R Eagle rated at 266HP and even the R-R VIII was only rated at 300 HP, not 375.
I used the WNW R-R Eagle according to the drawings on their homepage. I didn't follow the online instructions that show the later eagles with double ignition and four magnetos.
Does that help? I admit, it's no 100% proof, but as we've got all the available literature who can proove us wrong ?
Best regards
Andreas

[Jeff K]

that helps a LOT yeah.

didn't occur to me that WNW would have photo archives for accessory sprues... one of the photos is A27, which is the same production batch as my A3!

i picked A3, btw, because Harold E. Hartney vividly describes a mission he flew in it in his memoir Wings Over France.

[Jeff K]

i went ahead and ordered the Rolls from Weta. 20 percent off sale, plus the 'Weta Dollars' i've banked from ordering a second Albatrio, meant i paid about US$3 for it, including shipping. now all i need is another Fee...

[Borsos]

And you can use all the photos of the well documented A‘5 I think!
BTW you made me putting the Fee back on the bench, Jeff. I think my mojo is back...
Andreas

[Jeff K]

the cheerleading section is watching your build with keen interest.

by the way i'm also considering A1960, the bus in which Hartney a) made ace and b) was shot down, allegedly by Richtofen (that's according to him, but a lot of sources say it was someone else). A3 has the tricycle landing gear though, which i like...

i've got some time to decide, i won't even be able to pick the kit up until May, when i visit the US...

[Borsos]

Take the time you need, Jeff! This project existed in the back of my head for about two years before I started it. And I am sure I won't finish it before the autumn.

I made some minor progress: The kit's forward interplane struts are too sort because they are made to be clued into the sides of the original Fe2b radiator. Covered up you don't see that they don't meet the fuselage bar they should. So I had to make the inteplane struts on my own: I sandwiched a piece of 0.5mm wire between two sheets of veneer, let it dry carefully and sanded it to shape. Although I like my new struts and they fit quite nicely (don't be mislead by the angles of the pictures, it's all as straight as it should ) I don't expect to be able to paint the plastic interplane struts of the kit that they look exactly like my wooden ones. So I'll have to replace them with wooden struts, too.
And after all in FFB I've seen what can happen to a wonderfull D.H. 2 if the plastic lattice tail is rigged with just a little too much tension. That brought me to the conclusion to replace the plastic lattice tail with brassrod -- even when it hurts...






Dryfitting the lower wings to the nacelle brought me to a crucial question: Both lower wings droop when atttached without glue. So to all who alreday built that kit: Will the lower wings be as straight as they should when glued into the nacelle?
Best regards
Borsos

[PrzemoL]

Hi Borsos.
Very fine progress on what I consider the finest, the best WNW kit.
I built it some years ago. The lower wings did not drop when I attached them for good in my model. The dihedral is perfectly as it should be. With the upper wing and rigging added it is stiffer than many other WNW models!
Also, I had no problems with any deforming of original plastic tail lattices - it just took some time to assess - on dryfitting the rigging through the tubes, how much tension to introduce, not to distort them and still make them stiff. The key was to tighten both bracing cables in a given bay at one time. You know, the lattices are not "full" and some bays cannot be rigged before the tail is attached to the wings. At this stage the model could not stand on the u/c. But when I rigged the missing bays, everything got the proper stiffness. And it has been safely and stably standing on its wheels for 6 years or so in my display cabinet.

[Jeff K]

good to see you're back on this ship. coincidentally, the Rolls Royce Eagle sprue arrived today. gorgeous little engine kit! super impressed.

i'll be following closely. i haven't got a second Fee kit yet, (better do it soon, before they sell out of 'early' ones).

[lcarroll]

Borsos,
    I had the same experience as did Przemo with the lower wings, they attached perfectly. I found the rigging of the lattices to be a delicate operation but also checked them for distortion at every step and used quite a bit of elastic line (some EZ Line and even more Modelkasten) to reduce undue strain on the frames. Like rigging a smaller subject the trick was moving from one side to the same wire on the other side to ensure too much tension and distortion didn't occur. It's made several long road trips to contests and is still standing straight and undamaged.
   It's good to see you back at this one, a great subject and it's coming along beautifully!
Cheers,
Lance

[RAGIII]

Excellent work on the cabanes. I envy your skill in being able to replace all of the struts and lattice tail booms! You are a master!
RAGIII

[Jeff K]

perfectly unavoidable decision on the cabane struts but man that's leading you down a rabbit hole innit.

but at the end of all this you'll have a beautiful example of (ok, arguably) the most under-rated ship of the entire war.

[Borsos]

Thank you very much Przemo, Jeff, Rick and Lance and pleas forgive my long absence here. Thanks for the hints regarding the tail boom! I think I'll dryfit the kit's parts and look how stable they seem to be...

After a long break I am back on that one. I added some streched sprue around the cockpit openings, glued in the engine and corrected the cowling pipes. Two new Fe2d exhausts are in the making (dull job...!)



Best regards
Andreas

[RAGIII]

Excellent progress on the engine and fitting of the covers. Your scratch built details like the louvers and lacing are gorgeous.
RAGIII

[Juan]

Glad to see you back on this beauty.  Great attention to detail and scratch building.

[ondra]

Great to see you back on this project, Andreas, excellent work so far. The amount of ingenuity invested into overcoming the various issues is truly inspirational.

Cudos!

Cheers

Ondra